Laminated hook fastener

ABSTRACT

An extruded hook fastener strip is created on a roll having hook forming cavities in its surface by extruding plastic material into the interface between the forming roll and a second strip carried by a backing roll. The second strip is firmly bonded to the fastener strip on that side opposite the formed hooks.

This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/046,922, filed onMar. 24, 1998, (abandoned), which is a continuation of U.S. applicationSer. No. 08/651,170, filed May 21, 1996, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.5,744,080, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/319,267, filed Oct. 6,1994, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,795, which is a continuation ofSer. No. 08/080,348, filed Jun. 21, 1993 which is abandoned, which isdivisional of Ser. No. 07/747,876, filed Aug. 16, 1991, now issued asU.S. Pat. No. 5,260,015.

This invention relates to an improved fastener of the hook and loop typeand a method for producing the same using a combined extrusion/rollforming process. The assignee of this application is owner of U.S. Pat.No. 4,775,310 which describes an apparatus for making a separablefastener and U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,243 which describes the productproduced by the apparatus of the former patent. Striplike fasteners ofthe type described in the subject patents comprise a great multiplicityof closely spaced upstanding hooklike projections to releasably engageloops of a companion fastener strip to form a cyclable or semipermanentclosure sold in the trade under the brand name Velcro®. Depending uponthe configuration of the multihook fastener, many different types ofmaterial are adapted for coaction therewith to effect joining of thestructures to which the strip fasteners are themselves joined. Suchfastener devices are finding broad usage in such diverse applications assecuring automotive seat covers to foamed seat buns, closures for foodbags, the application of armor to military vehicles and holding downfloor coverings to floors.

Each of the recited applications and many more, well known to thoseskilled in the art, require the fastener to be permanently attached to asecond article such as a piece of textile fabric, a seat bun, a floor orthe flap of a paper bag. Sewing, however, is limited as to the nature ofthe material to which the fastener may be attached. Adhesive systemshave long been used as a principal method of attaching fasteners toother objects as well. U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,580 discloses a method ofsecuring a fastener member to a substrate by first applying a syntheticresin adhesive to one side of the base of a fastener, opposite the sidecontaining the upstanding engaging elements, and then applying anadhesive to the substrate. Thereafter the adhesive coating on thefastener is activated. The two adhesive coated surfaces are broughttogether in face to face relationship to firmly affix the fastenermember to the substrate. The subject patent teaches that “in order tosecurely bond an adhesive to the tape member it is preferred that theopposite surface of the tape member have a suitable base coat whichwould provide for a secure bond between the tape member and theadhesive”. U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,752 instructs that in preparing adhesivelaminates, wherein synthetic resin based adhesive is laminated to a webof polyamide polymer, it was found that strong bonding between thepolyamine substrate and the adhesive lamina were difficult to achieve,and the prior art is “well-studded with attempts to overcome thisproblem”. This patent overcomes such difficulties by treating thepolyamide web with primer coating consisting of a complex chemicalmixture in a solvent medium to render an improved bonding surface. Manypatents, including U.S. Pat. No. 2,349,290 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,070and U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,448 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,164, describemethods for bonding poly(amide) polymer to specific surfaces primarilynatural or synthetic rubber. All of these teachings rely upon chemicalmeans for enhancing the ability to bond to the surface of a sheet orfibrous material.

Many plastic fastener tapes are produced from plastic materialspossessing the minimum strength and resiliency essential to the properfunctioning of the hooklike projections. Customarily the side of thefastener tape opposite the upstanding hooks is a smooth, flat, uniformand regular surface difficult to bond, as is well documented in theprior art. Such difficulties present particular problems for hook andloop fasteners. This class of products are convenience products and ifit is necessary to apply complex chemical treatments to the tape priorto bonding the convenience advantage is lost. It is known to applypressure sensitive adhesives to such fasteners by the application ofcorona treatments in the manufacturing facilities where the fastenertapes are manufactured but such treatments are not available for manyusers and do not present a reasonable solution for creating a fastenersurface which is readily bondable to a wide variety of surfaces using awide range of adhesive types. U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,865 describes anapparatus for continuously forming a flexible web with moldedprotuberances of plastic material incorporated in a base web. The baseof the web is either a porous woven or nonwoven fabric, or an extrudedfilm. The supporting fabric is impregnated with molten plasticsimultaneously as hooks are formed. While U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,865 issparse in detail concerning the nature of the product formed from theapparatus it does characterize the impregnation of the base fabric ascomplete, stating in appropriate part, “a liquid moldable plasticmaterial, for example a molten plastic, is injected into the hookmolding recesses of the wire and also onto the surface and into theinterstices of the base fabric which lies on the surface of the drum.”The base fabric passes under a nozzle which impregnates it with the sameplastic used to inject the dies used to form the plastic hooks with theclear implication the porous base web is completely saturated with theplastic. This is considerably different from the products of the presentinvention wherein the process controls the distribution of plastic intothe baking material to a degree necessary to firmly hold the backingmaterial to the base of the hook sheet but does not encase the backingto destroy it's aesthetic characteristics as a functioning backingmaterial to modify the back surface of the fastener. The backing of U.S.Pat. No. 3,594,865 is primarily a support onto which hooks are formedand does not modify the backing of the fastener to receive adhesives orgluing agents nor is it possible to utilize loop materials as thebacking material to form back to back fasteners. It is also known to usecomplex laminating methods to add a bondable surface to many sheetmaterials but such methods are expensive and often create a finalproduct which has undesirable characteristics such as bulk, stiffness, atendency to delaminate, operating temperature limitations or otherproperties making the laminate undesirable.

A product using such techniques, well known in the art of hook and loopfasteners, is the so called back to back fastener. Such a product iscreated by taking a hook fastener and a loop fastener and bonding thetwo together in a back to back relationship such that the resultinglaminate has hooks on one side and loops on the other side. Such acombination finds wide use in many strapping operations such s wireties, plant ties and fastener straps for holding splints and the like inplace. The limitation of such products in the past has focused on themethod used to laminate the two components together as described above.The bulk created by the adhesive bonding of such laminates has clearlylimited its usefulness.

Therefore it is the object of the present invention to produce a hookportion of a hook and loop fastener system which has a surface oppositethe surface containing the upstanding hooks substantially modified inits characteristics from the customary flat, smooth, even surface whichhas little compatibility for bonding to other materials. A furtherobjective of the invention is to create a surface on the back of a baseof a plastic hook and loop fastener which will readily accept bondingagents such as adhesives, glues, cements and the like without specialtreatment of the surface. It is a further objective of the invention tocreate a loop surface on the back portion of the base of a plastic hookfastener which is capable of engaging into hooks on the front surfacethereof to form a back to back laminate with less bulk, stiffness andthickness.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The process described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,028 for making plastichooks utilizes an apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,310comprising “a first cooled unitary forming roller having a plurality ofhook forming cavities defined in the periphery thereof and extendinginwardly therefrom; a second pressure roller positioned for coactionwith said first forming roller; means for concurrently rotating saidfirst and second rollers in opposite directions about their generallyrespective axis; means for forming a striplike extrusion of moltenplastic material adjacent said first and second rollers to be directedtherebetween at an interface thereof such that said plastic materialfills said hook forming cavities and forms a striplike member having abase portion and a great multiplicity of hooklike projections extendingfrom one surface of said base portion and integral therewith; means forremoving said striplike member from said first forming roller at aposition spaced from the interface of said first and second rollers suchthat said hooklike projections are withdrawn from said hook formingcavities without opening said cavities after being cooled by the firstforming roller to a desired temperature.” I have found it possible tointroduce into the nip, formed by the two cylinders, various sheetmaterials which will become an integral part of the striplike materialon the side opposite the hooks. Surprisingly, introduction of suchmaterials into the nip along with the molten plastic does not interferewith the operation of the process and while certain cautions andlimitations are, of course, desirable, the formation of such insitulaminates proceeds to great advantage. I have found a very wide varietyof materials, such as nonwoven fabrics, woven and knitted textiles,reinforcing yarns, scrims and nettings, sheets of paper, plastic films,metallic window screening and almost any material in filmlike or thinsheet form can be handled in this manner. The formation of the striplikeplastic fastener sheet insitu with a porous foreign backing most oftenis accomplished by infusion of the molten plastic into the structure ofthe web material where there is an intimate intermingling of the plasticwithin the pores of the web. In the case of nonporous films, the filmstend to melt on their surface forming an intermolecular diffusion whichforms a strong bond between the sheets. The inclusion of such foreignmaterials provides a substantial advantage over prior art methods ofcreating laminates. Such striplike materials contain no foreignmaterial; the bonds are strong and a wide range of materials may bejoined in this way. Additionally, the process of adding the backing atthe time of creating the hooks offers economic advantages over the moreconventional processes of creating a laminate using adhesives or otherbonding agents in second stage processes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to more fully understand the invention, reference should be hadto the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theattached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the apparatus used in the priorart for creating the plastic fastener hook tape of the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 which ismodified in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic rear view of the forming roll arrangement of FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the hook fastener tapeformed by the prior art process.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 5A is another schematic illustration of the product of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of another product ofthe invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of yet another formof the invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view wherein the bottom layer ofthe product is a loop fastener.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view wherein the product includesa layer of foam.

FIG. 9A shows how the foam layer of FIG. 9 can be sheared.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus used in the prior artfor creating the plastic fastener hook tape of the prior art. Extruderbarrel 1 melts and forces the molten plastic 3 through die 2 into thenip 6 between base roller 4 and cavity roller 5 containing cavities toform the hooks of a strip fastener of the well known hook and loop type.The strip fastener material formed in the nip 6 travels around theperiphery of the cavity roller 5 and around stripping roller 7, whichassists in pulling the formed hook sheet 8 from the cavity roll, andthence to a windup device, not shown.

While many methods of feeding sheet material to the forming section ofthe hook forming device are possible FIG. 2 illustrates a deviceparticularly well adapted to that purpose. I have found that byintroducing a performed sheet material 10 into the nip 6 at the sametime molten plastic 3 is forced into the nip 6 to create the stripfastener tape, the sheet material will bond intimately with the fastenerto become an integral part of the structure of the strip fastener. As inFIG. 1, extruder 1 forces molten plastic 3 through die 2 into nip 6between rolls 4 and 5. However, I have added at the edges and around theperiphery of backing roller 4 a set of pins which will carry the sheetmaterial 10 into the nip 6 in a flat, unwrinkled state. It is importantto maintain a smooth, wrinkle free, properly tensioned sheet in order toform a smooth, even laminate backing for the fastener. To assure propertensioning and alignment of the secondary sheet material, a roll of thesecondary material 10 is mounted on a let off device and threaded arounddiversion roller 11 into a web straightening device 12, well known inthe art as typically sold by the Fife Manufacturing Company whichassures the edge of the web of sheet material is centered as it is fedonto backing roller 4 around scroll roll 13, composed of ribs ofelastomeric material to firmly grip the sheet and impinge it against thebacking roller 4 and onto pins 14. Pins 14 and roller 4 deliver the webinto nip 6 along with molten plastic 3. As the molten plastic 3 isforced by the pressure imposed upon it by the narrow space of the nip 6,it flows into cavities in cavity roller 5 and also into any porespresent in the sheet material being carried by the backing roller 4. Inthis way the web sheet 10 is intimately joined to the forming hook sheet8 and becomes an integral part thereof to form a laminated sheet 9. FIG.3 is a rear view of the forming roll stack along line A,A1. The backingroller 4 is supported on shaft 15 which is held by bearing 16 in itsproper place in side plates, not shown. Bearing 16 is connected tohydraulic lines 19 from a hydraulic pump located remotely from the rollstack. The pins 14 are held by hub 18 which is fitted to the shaft 15holding the backing roller 4. It is possible to incorporate the pins 14directly into the backing roller 4 but I prefer to utilize separate pinholding hubs which afford some degree of flexibility in utilizingvarious size and shape pines for differing sheet materials.

The customary procedure for operating the apparatus described is tothread up the secondary backing 10 through the machine, start theextruder 1 so that plastic 3 is flowing smoothly through the die 2 andthen move the lips of the die 2 into proximity of the nip 6 between thetwo forming rollers 4 & 5. The molten plastic is picked up by thebacking roller 4 and delivered into the nip 6 as pressure from thehydraulic cylinders 17 raises the backing roller 4 into position. As thegap 6 between the backing roller 4 and the cavity roller 5 is reduced,the molten plastic 3 flows into the nip 6 and is forced into the opencavities in the forming roll 5. Molten plastic is also forced into thepores of the backing material 22, penetration depending upon thethickness of the backing, the pore structure of the backing, theviscosity of the molten plastic and the pressure of the plastic in thenip. The pressure in the nip 6 is a function of the hydraulic pressureused to close the rollers 4 & 5 and the quantity of material deliveredinto the nip 6 relative to the quantity consumed in forming the backingand filling the cavities.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the hook fastener tape formed by the priorart process. The hook tape consists of a base 20 and hooks 21 projectingfrom the base. The plastic material forming the tape is essentiallyuniform throughout. FIG. 5 is one embodiment of a product of thisinvention created by introducing a nonwoven fabric into the nip of theforming rolls as described above. Base 20 containing hooks 21 projectingtherefrom is attached nonwoven fabric 22. At the interface 23 betweenthe two layers the plastic from the fastener flows around and entrapssome of the fibers of the nonwoven 22 thereby bonding the nonwovenfabric to form a laminate of the two layers. The nonwoven may be lightor heavy, thin or thick, dense or open. The properties of the nonwoven,the pressure exerted and the viscosity of the plastic in the nip willdetermine the degree to which the plastic flows into the fibrousnetwork, or put alternately, the degree to which the nonwoven will imbedinto the plastic. FIG. 5a is a schematic representation of the laminateof FIG. 5 where the layer 23 represents the zone of mixed fabric andplastic. It should be understood this layer is not of uniformcross-section but rather there is a gradient concentration across thislayer ranging from no fibers at the bottom of the plastic layer 20 to noplastic at the top of the fiber layer 24. If, on the other hand, thenonwoven web is thick and dense, the plastic will only marginallypenetrate into the nonwoven and the back side of the fastener will havethe appearance of the free standing fibrous nonwoven. By carefullyselecting the fibrous nonwoven web, the plastic for forming the fastenerand the operating conditions of the process; it is possible to generatea wide range of products with different degrees of fibers projectingfrom the surface of the plastic thus providing a wide variety ofproducts directed to many different applications.

FIG. 6 is a cross-section diagram of yet another product of the presentinvention where an open, woven, textile reinforcing scrim 25 has beenadded into the nip 6 of the calendar with a slight overfeed to create anexcess of the backing fabric. Because of the open structure the plastic20 has encapsulated large sections of the fabric scrim 25 yet sectionsof the fabric come to the surface 26 of the fastener. Such a combinationcan be used to add strength to the plastic tape, but also providesubstantial modification of the plastic surface of the fastener.

FIG. 7 again shows the plastic hook fastener 20 with upstanding hooks 21laminated to a sheet of paper 27 containing on the surface thereof anadhesive layer 28. The adhesive may be any convenient type dependingupon the intended use of the product. In this way it is possible toapply reactivatable adhesives, pressure sensitive adhesives or contactadhesives as the bottom layer of the laminate. Depending upon the natureof the adhesive laminate being applied, care must be taken to preventthe adhesive from being squeezed or distorted by the action of thepressure of the nip.

FIG. 8 shows yet another embodiment of the technique of the presentinvention wherein the backing layer 29 is the loop side of a hook andloop fastener. Molten plastic 3 flows through die 2 and is forced intothe pores of the backing of the loop 29 at the interface 27encapsulating some of the yarns of the loop backing integrally holdingthe backing with the plastic sheet. In this way is created a productwhich is well known when created by adhesive bonding but in thisembodiment the laminate is created without foreign materials required tohold the layers together. Such back to back products are useful for themanufacturer of so called backstraps well known in the art of hook andloop materials.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the invention wherein the sheetlikematerial is a thin polyurethane foam 30. The thin foam 30 can beintroduced into the nip of the calender as previously described. Thesurface of the foam 30 is intimately bonded to the plastic of thestriplike fastener 20. FIG. 9a shows the same arrangement as FIG. 9 withthe foam 30 attached to the back of the fastener 20 but also illustrateswhat happens when attempting to remove the foam 30. The bond attachingthe foam 30 to the plastic fastener 20 member is greater than thecohesive strength of the foam 30. When attempt is made to separate thefoam from the back of the fastener 20, the foam 30 splits or tearswithin the body of the foam 31 leaving a substantial portion of the foamon the back of the plastic strip fastener.

The following examples will aid in further understanding the range anduniqueness of this invention.

EXAMPLE I

The apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,310 was set up to producea plastic hook product, designated as hook type CFM-15 by the VelcroGroup Corporation, using a nylon 12 resin, identified as resin L-2121sold by the Hules Chemical Corporation. The melt temperature of theresin measured at the exit end of the extruder was 454° F. The die headtemperature was 460° F. Line speed was 30 feet per minute; tape widthwas 10 inches; calendering pressure was 2000 # gage. The top rolltemperature was 31° F.; the forming roll temperature was 55° F.; and thebottom roll temperature was 37° F. A roll of nonwoven fabric, Pellon 850a nylon nonwoven fabric sold by the Freudenberg Company, slit to a 10inch width was introduced into the calender at the nip formed betweenthe bottom and forming rolls. After a short initial start up period thefabric processed smoothly through the forming section withoutdifficulty. The nonwoven fabric was intimately integrated into theplastic of the hook sheet. The laminate thus formed could not beseparated into its constituents, one from the other, without destroyingthe fiber layer. The back of the hook product manifested a smooth, softfibrous surface substantially different from the surface of the productwithout the laminated layer.

EXAMPLE II

The apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,310 was set up to producea plastic hook product designated as hook type CEM-15 by the VelcroGroup Corporation, using a co-polyester resin sold by the DuPontCompany, a Hytrel® 8238 with 10% of a master batch fire retardant addedto provide fire resistance to the final product. The melt temperature ofthe polymer, at the end of the extruder, was 475° F. and the dietemperature was 476° F. The line speed was 30 feet per minute. A roll ofspunbonded nonwoven fabric, sold as Remay® 2016, weighing 1.35 ouncesper square yard with a thickness of 0.009 inches was slit to 10 incheswidth and introduced into the nip formed by the bottom and forming rollsof the device as described in Example I. The bottom roll temperature was50° F., the forming roll temperature was 50° F. and the top rolltemperature was 90° F. A tension of 100 pounds was exerted against thespun bonded fabric in order to prevent wrinkles from developing as thesheet passed into the nip of the calender, and the bottom roller wasoverdriven at 8% relative to the forming roller. The spunbonded fabricshowed minor wrinkling and folding. The tension on the fabric wasreduced to 35-40 pounds and the overfeed increased to 8.5% which reducedthe wrinkles to an acceptable level.

The laminated product formed consisted of an integral bond between theplastic base of the hook sheet and the upper layer of the spunbondedfabric. The plastic forming the underside of the base of the hook tapewas intimately merged with the intestices of the fabric. The spunbondednonwoven layer could not be separated from the plastic without beingdestroying. Even when tearing the laminated sheet, the two layers wouldnot separate. Because of the heavy weight of the spunbond, fibers wereapparent on the under surface of the laminate and it was possible todisrupt and loosen fibers from the surface by vigorous rubbing. Evenafter substantial rubbing, however, a great quantity of fibers,primarily from the upper surface of the spunbond remain attached to thesurface of the plastic.

EXAMPLE III

Exactly the same configuration as used in Example II was utilized butthe spunbonded nonwoven used was a lighter weight version of Remay,designated as Remay® style 2006, weighing 0.6 ounces per square yardwith a thickness of 0.006 inches. In order to eliminate wrinkles andfolds from the web, tension was reduced to 25 pounds and the sameoverfeed was used on the bottom roller. The product formed by thiscombination was similar to that of Example II but the mingling of thepolymer into the interstices of the unwoven was greater than in thatexample, but it was still possible to raise fibers from the surface byvigorous rubbing, and there were many fibers on the surface of theplastic projecting as a very fine fuzz above the surface.

EXAMPLE IV

Exactly the same configuration as used in Examples II and III wereutilized but the spunbonded nonwoven used was even lighter then in theprevious examples. The version of Remay in this example was designatedas Remay® style 2250, weighing 0.5 ounces per square yard with athickness of 0.004 inches. In order to eliminate wrinkles and folds fromthe web, tension was reduced to 20 pounds and the overfeed was increasedto 9% on the bottom roller. The product formed by this combination wassimilar to those of Examples II and III but the mingling of the polymerinto the interstices of the nonwoven was marginally greater than inExample III. This mingling was enhanced to the extent it was difficultto raise fibers from the surface by vigorous rubbing even when using acoin to abrade the surface. Yet it was possible to clearly see thefibers on the surface as an integral part of the surface and evenprojecting as a very fine fuzz from the surface.

EXAMPLE V

The apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,310 was set up to producea plastic hook product, designated as hook type CFM-15 by the VelcroGroup Corporation, using a polyester copolymer resin, Hytrel 8238, soldby the DuPont Company. The melt temperature of the polymer at the end ofthe extruder was 475° F. and the die temperature was 470° F. The linespeed was 35 feet per minute and the tape width was 8-9 inches. Thebottom roll temperature of the calender was 85° F., the forming roll was40° F. and the top roll was 40° F. The calender pressure was 2500 poundsper lineal inch. A roll of tricot knitted fabric, sold by Velcro USA asLoop 3200, was slit to a width of 10 inches and fed into the calender atthe nip formed by the bottom and forming rolls. As the hook product wasformed the molten plastic backing flowed into the interstices of theknitted fabric. The layers forming the laminate between the plastic hookand the tricot fabric could not be separated without destroying thematerial making up the layer. In spite of the fact that Loop 3200 is avery open structure and the plastic from the hook portion of thelaminate surrounded and encapsulated many of the ground yearns of thefabric, a sufficient number of loops remained extending upwards from theback of the product to enable hooks from the face to tightly engage whena tape of the product was turned such that the hooks were made to facethe loops on the reverse side of the structure. In this manner wasformed a product commonly known in the trade of hook and loop fastenersas back to back closure.

EXAMPLE VI

A sample of the Loop 3200 described in Example V was laminated to a ⅛inch thick polyether urethane foam using flame lamination techniqueswell know in the art. The foam laminate thus formed was slit into a 10inch wide roll of material which was fed into the hook forming devicedescribed in Example V. In this instance, however, the resin used was apolyethylene resin produced by the EXXON Chemical Company sold asEscorene LL6301.57. The melt temperature of the polymer at the end ofthe extruder was 420° F. and the die temperature was also 420° F. Thecalender pressure was 1250 pounds per lineal inch and the bottom rolltemperature was 70° F., the forming roll temperature was 50° F. and thetop roll temperature was 90° F. The line speed was 30 feet per minute.The foam side of the foam loop laminate was orientated to join with theplastic backing of the hook portion of the product and the loop portionfaced outwardly from the bottom side of the product. A tenaciouslaminate resulted. The layers of the laminate could be separated bytearing the loop portion away from the plastic portion and the rupturebetween the layers occurred along the foam interface leaving a thinlayer of foam on both the plastic and the loop. The force necessary toseparate the layers was approximately 2 pounds per inch of width. Theuse of the foam as an intermediate layer yielded a product with softloop backing which readily engaged the hooks on the face side of theproduct when turned in back to face relationship. The degree ofcontamination of the loop structure as occurred in Example II wasessentially eliminated and the pressure of the foam layer provided asoft cushioning to assist in the hook loop engagement.

EXAMPLE VII

Using the process configuration of Example VI a sample of a differentloop, Velcro loop style 3610, was introduced in place of the loop usedin Example V. Loop 3610 is a relatively heavy weight loop fabricweighing in the range of 8.02 to 9.95 ounces per square yard and havinga nominal thickness range of 0.062 to 0.087 inches. The loop passedthrough the nip without difficulty using a tension of 100 pounds on theloop fabric, on overfeed on the bottom roll of 8% and a nip pressure of1250 pounds per lineal inch. The plastic from the forming hooks mingledand encapsulated many of the fibers on the back side of the loop fabricthus creating a substantial bond holding the two layers together.Because Loop 3610 is such a substantial product it was possible to workloose one corner of the fabric from the plastic and by so doing test thebond strength of the laminate. The peel separating force averages 6pounds to delaminate the two layers. The loop face of the Loop 3610appeared to be unaffected by the laminating process and when thelaminate was turned on itself such that the hooks engaged the loop inface to face relationship substantial gripping was achieved. Theperformance of the back to back closure thus formed was comparable tothe performance of an independently formed hook product formed from thesame polymer against loop 3610.

EXAMPLE VIII

Using the process configuration of Example VI, a sample of a differentloop, Velcro loop, style 3003, was introduced in place of the loop usedin Example VII. Loop 3003 is a circular knit fabric with a substantiallyhigh loop pile on one surface, a relatively heavy weight of 9 ounces persquare yard and a nominal thickness of 0.10 inches. The loop passedthrough the nip with some difficulty due to its bulk but the sampleformed provided an extremely high degree of mingling of the plasticresin with the backing fibers of the loop fabric. The bond wassufficiently strong. The two layers could not be separated for testingwith destroying one or both of the layers. The pile fibers of the loopfabric did not appear to be affected by the laminating process and theclosure performance of the back to back product thus formed wasessentially the same as the closure performance of a comparable hookproduct produced independently tested against an independent loop of thesame style.

EXAMPLE IX

The extrusion configuration of Examples VI through VIII using Escorenepolyethylene was used to create yet another laminate in which the webintroduced into the nip between the bottom roll and the forming roll waskraft paper. The paper bonded tightly to the back of the hook tape andcould not be separated from the laminate without being destroyed.Penetration of the plastic into the paper was limited as shown by theability to delaminate the paper from itself leaving a thin veil of paperfibers still attached to the plastic.

EXAMPLE X

In place of the standard kraft paper of Example IX, a length of kraftpaper containing, on one surface, thereof, a water activable adhesivewas introduced into the nip between the bottom roll and the forming rollwith the adhesive side of the paper away from the plastic of the hooktape. The paper bonded tightly to the plastic of the hook, in a mannerthe same as described in Example IX. The paper could be torn from thelaminate leaving a veil of fine paper fibers on the plastic surface. Theinteresting facet to this laminate was the fact the adhesive layer onthe back of the hook tape could be activated by applying water to theadhesive and the adhesive used to attach the hook laminate to otherobjects. Small squares of the laminate so formed were activated as onewould activate a postage stamp, with the tongue, and the small square ofhook was easily attached to other objects. Appropriate loops attached toother objects were in this way releasably attached to each other.

EXAMPLE XI

The extrusion configuration of Examples VI through IX using Escorenepolyethylene without any additives was used to create yet anotherlaminate in which the web, introduced into the nip between the bottomroll and the forming roll, was a printed high density polyethylene film.The film bonded to the back of the hook tape but could be peeled fromthe laminate with a relatively light force of less than 0.5 pounds perinch of width. An especially interesting aspect of this laminate wasthat the printing could be read clearly through the slightly opaque faceof the hook tape. The HD polyethylene printed message was in no waydistorted and was only slightly less bright than the original printedmessage of the film.

EXAMPLE XII

In place of the printed polyethylene film of Example XI a page from aRand-McNalley Road Atlas, made of paper with a road map printed on eachside, was introduced into the nip between the bottom roller and theforming roller. The paper bonded tightly to the plastic polyethylenehook sheet that it could not be separated from the plastic withoutdestroying the paper. The fine lines of the map were visible through theslightly opaque plastic film forming the hook tape. The paper sheet wasprinted on both sides and it was also possible to read the map on theback side of the hook sheet. The assembly with the printed matter on itsreverse side could be attached to display boards with loop materialcovers. The combination formed an interesting method for affixingdisplay material to other objects. Conversely, it is possible to make adisplay surface with the hooks extending outward from the displaysurface which can be read through the hook tape to which objects can beattached. In this way, the design portrayed on the display is readthrough the hooks and sections of the display can be covered up byattaching loop material to the exposed hooks.

EXAMPLE XIII

The apparatus as described in previous examples was set up to processpolypropylene resin designated as Ferro HDPS 0250D, a fire retardantpolypropylene resin from Ferro Chemical Company. The melt temperaturewas 400° F. and the die temperature was also 400° F. The line speed was30 fpm and the nip pressure was 1500 pounds per linier inch. After theprocess was operating and forming an appropriate hook product a lengthof ether type polyurethane foam 0.065 inches thick, was introduced intothe nip formed between the bottom roll and the forming roll. The foambonded tenaciously to the plastic underside of the hook sheet and couldnot be removed without destroying the foam layer. In the process ofbeing laminated, the foam was substantially compressed but remainedtightly bonded to the polypropylene and provided a soft, resilientbacking to the polypropylene hook tape which substantially changes theaesthetic and tactile response to the hook product.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fastener product having a multiplicity offastener elements extending from a strip-form base and a performedmaterial bonded to at least part of the strip-form base, the productproduced by the method comprising: continuously introducing molten resinto a gap defined adjacent a peripheral surface of a rotating mold roll,such that the resin forms at least a part of the strip-form base of theproduct at the peripheral mold roll surface and fills an array of fixedcavities defined in the rotating mold roll to form portions of thefastener elements as projections extending from a side of the sheet-formbase; while introducing a preformed material to resin on the mold rollunder conditions selected to cause the preformed material to becomepermanently bonded by the resin to at least a portion of the product;solidifying the resin; and stripping the solidified resin from theperipheral surface of the mold roll by pulling the projections fromtheir respective cavities.
 2. The product of claim 1 wherein thepreformed material comprises a non-woven fabric.
 3. The product of claim1 wherein the preformed material is a reinforcing scrim.
 4. The productof claim 1 wherein the preformed material is porous, the resin infusinginto pores of the sheet material as the resin and material are bonded.5. The product of claim 1 wherein the preformed material comprisespaper.
 6. The product of claim 1 wherein the preformed materialcomprises foam.
 7. The product of claim 1 wherein said material islengthwise-continuous and introduced as at least one running length. 8.The product of claim 1 wherein the gap is defined between the mold rolland a counter-rotating pressure roll.
 9. The product of claim 8 whereinthe material is lengthwise-continuous and introduced as at least onerunning length which is delivered to and progresses along at least aportion of the pressure roll before being introduced to the resin. 10.The product of claim 1 wherein stripping the resin from the peripheralsurface of the mold roll includes passing the product about a strippingroll.
 11. The product of claim 1 wherein the cavities are shaped to formfastener elements and wherein the projections comprise an array ofmolded fastener elements.
 12. The product of claim 1 wherein thecavities are shaped to form fastener elements adapted to engage loops.13. The product of claim 1 wherein the preformed material forms abacking of the product.
 14. The product of claim 1 wherein the preformedmaterial has a first region encapsulated within resin of the base of theproduct, and a second region free of resin of the base of the product.15. The product of claim 1 wherein the preformed material has loops orfibers exposed in the product for engaging the fastener elements. 16.The product of claim 1 wherein the preformed material is laminated toresin of the base in the gap.
 17. The product of claim 1 wherein thepreformed material extends across the back of the product.
 18. Theproduct of claim 1 wherein the preformed material is selected from thegroup consisting of non-woven fabrics, woven and knitted textiles,reinforcing yarns, scrims and nettings, sheets of paper, plastic filmsand metallic window screening.
 19. The product of claim 1 wherein thepreformed material is introduced to the resin at the gap.
 20. Theproduct of claim 1 wherein the resin is solidified downstream of thepoint of introduction of the preformed material to the resin.
 21. Afastener product comprising resin forming both a portion of a strip-formbase and an array of loop-engageable fastener elements having moldedstems rising from a broad surface of the strip-form base; and alongitudinally continuous sheet material permanently bonded to the resinduring formation of the strip-form base and the molding of the stems byintroducing the sheet material to the resin before the base solidifies.22. The product of claim 21 wherein the sheet material forms a backingof the product, on a broad side of the strip-form base opposite the sidefrom which the stems extend.
 23. The product of claim 21 wherein thesheet material carries loops for engagement by the fastener elements.24. The product of claim 21 wherein the fastener elements are of formmolded and cooled simultaneously with contiguous resin of the strip-formbase.